The Eugene District BLM, currently led by Ginnie Grilley, has released its draft plan to authorize herbicide spraying within the Eugene city limits.

This draft plan threatens community health and biodiversity, and would destroy rare cultural resources, while dropping environmental education and cutting off a record of national award-winning partnership planning.

Come ask questions and speak up for safety from BLM herbicides at this public meeting!

The Eugene District BLM, with district manager Ginnie Grilley (WOPR supporter, collaboration opponent) and her hip-pocket NEPA planner Richard Hardt, has a proven track record of blithely ignoring public comments, so it is important to raise the pressure if we want to be heard - and keep our community dafe!

The deadline for written comments is mid-December. And the BLM has finally replaced the Bush-era state director, just recently, so there's new hope, and still time to move this plan toward Eugene community values!

Eugene, Ore. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eugene District is releasing for public review and comment a draft Resource Management Plan and draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft RMP/Draft EIS) for the BLM-administered lands in the West Eugene Wetlands. The planning area comprises approximately 1,340 acres of BLM- administered public lands within the West Eugene Wetlands.

The BLM acquired portions of the West Eugene Wetlands over the past several decades, and these lands do not have an existing RMP. The planning area is home to the endangered Fender’s blue butterfly, and three threatened or endangered plants: Bradshaw’s lomatium, Willamette daisy, and Kincaid’s lupine.

This Draft RMP/Draft EIS is a comprehensive management plan for the long-term protection and management of the BLM-administered lands in the West Eugene Wetlands. The Draft RMP/Draft EIS analyzes in detail the No Action alternative, which would be to continue the current management practice, and six action alternatives. These action alternatives were designed, in part, to explore alternative approaches to contributing to recovery of threatened and endangered species, consistent with the recommendations in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Plan for the Prairie Species of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington.

The comment for the Draft RMP/Draft EIS is scheduled for 90 days beginning October 19, 2012. Comments can be submitted by any of the following methods:

You may also submit comments at a public meeting for the Draft RMP/Draft EIS on November 8, 2012, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Eugene District Office, 3106 Pierce Parkway, Springfield, Oregon, 97477. BLM staff will be on hand to answer questions and listen to your concerns.